With “CSI” on the case, CBS has solved NBC’s early-season dominance — stepping into the winner’s circle for the first time this fall.

The Eye net, according to Nielsen, edged out the Peacock in overall audience for the week of Oct. 22-28 (12.84 million to 12.74m) and placed second to NBC in adults 25-54.

Leading the way for CBS was second-year crime drama “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” which surged to series highs on Thursday, including total viewers (24.67 million, No. 3 for the week) and adults 18-49 (9.0/21, No. 4 for the week).

CBS’ winning week also included more top 10 finishes from “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Survivor: Africa,” season highs for each of its Tuesday dramas and the best results in five weeks for “The Amazing Race.”

NBC still prevailed in the key advertiser demo of adults 18-49 for the fifth time in as many weeks this season, topping second-place Fox by 22%.

Peacock claimed the week’s top two programs in “ER” (27.38m, 13.6/33 in 18-49) and “Friends” (25.64m, 12.5/33), which bookended a Thursday victory. Net also won on Wednesday and Friday.

Fox got off to a solid start with the World Series, as the opening two games were up by 6% year-to-year in overall audience. Sunday’s game was the No. 4 show of the week in total viewers (23.55 million)

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Net won the week in all male demos and was second in adults 18-49 despite airing all repeats Monday through Wednesday.

ABC ran fourth across the board, as “Monday Night Football” fell to a season low opposite baseball playoffs and its top entertainment series, “The Practice,” was in repeat. Highlights included strong numbers for its Wednesday comedies and a standout perf from Thursday’s “Primetime Live,” which ranked as the week’s top-rated newsmag among adults 18-49.

UPN joined NBC as the only nets to improve season to date vs. a year ago in key demos, with Wednesday’s “Enterprise” continuing to impress. Tuesday’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is also providing big year-to-year gains.

The WB received strong perfs from its Tuesday dramas “Gilmore Girls” and “Smallville” and from Friday laffer “Reba.” Net was down vs. a year ago, though, held down by Thursday’s “PopStars” and the since-canceled “Elimidate Deluxe”

Overall, viewers continue to tune in for returning favorites (“JAG,” “Friends,” the “Law & Order” franchise) while shunning the two series tied most closely to the events of Sept. 11: Both CIA drama “The Agency” on CBS and New York firefighter drama “Third Watch” on NBC are struggling.

Game 2 of the World Series (23.55m, 8.4/20 in 18-49) grabbed better numbers than all five of last year’s games, leading Fox to its strongest Sunday since January 2000.

Boosted by a football lead-in, CBS’ “60 Minutes” ticked to its best 18-49 rating (4.3/11) since January, while lead-out “The Education of Max Bickford” (11.43m, 2.8/7 in 18-49) was up slightly week to week.

Fox rolled on the night with the opening game of the World Series, while ABC was second among viewers under 50 behind “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and a repeat of “My Best Friend’s Wedding.”

CBS received another weak perf from “Citizen Baines” (6.94m, 1.7/5 in 18-49), which fell 41% behind what “Walker, Texas Ranger” did in the hour a year ago in 18-49. It’s also hurting “The District” at 10, which was down 17% vs. last season.

Friday

The “Radio Music Awards” boosted ABC to second place in 18-49, although net’s overall audience (5.58 million viewers) was its smallest on a Friday since September 2000.

CBS’ “The Ellen Show” (5.74m, 1.8/6) disappointed in its new 8:30 timeslot, retaining just 75% of its 18-49 lead-in from a repeat “King of Queens.” The WB’s “Reba,” on the other hand, delivered the same demo score but doubled its lead-in (“Maybe It’s Me”) in doing so.

Thursday

Most shows were up week to week, including NBC’s “Friends” and CBS’ “Survivor” (20.43m, 8.0/20). NBC increased its advantage in the opening hour to 29% in adults 18-49 as 8:30 laffer “Inside Schwartz” (16.56m, 8.2/20) picked it up a notch.

CBS’ “The Agency” again retained less than 40% of its “CSI” 18-49 lead-in (3.5 vs. 9.0), with the CIA drama fading an additional 18% in its second half-hour.

NBC dominated (18 million viewers, 6.6/17 in 18-49), improving upon its year-ago winning averages by more than 20%. Net’s “West Wing” was the night’s most-watched show (21.47m) while its “Law & Order” was No. 1 in 18-49 (8.1/22).

ABC’s “My Wife and Kids” (13.24m, 5.3/15 in 18-49) and “According to Jim” (12.84m, 5.8/15) hit season highs. And in its new 9:30 timeslot, “Bob Patterson” grabbed its best adults 18-34 rating to date (3.8/10), although that rating reps a 31% dropoff from its first-place “Drew Carey” lead-in (5.5/15).

CBS’ “Amazing Race” (9.17m, 4.0/10 in 18-49) earned some of its best marks since Sept. 19. Compared with the net’s movie perf in the hour during the first five weeks last season, “Race” is up by 24% in adults 18-49.

Tuesday

CBS rolled behind its dramas, with seventh-year “JAG” and third-year “Judging Amy” attracting their second-largest audiences ever and rookie “The Guardian” hitting a new high as well.

“Smallville” (7.34m, 3.4/9 in 18-49) again came up big for the WB, retaining in excess of 90% of its premiere aud in many key demos. Skedmate “Gilmore Girls” hit some series highs for a one-hour episode, including total viewers (6.39m).

Monday

CBS won easily on Oct. 15 behind its comedy block, while ABC’s “Monday Night Football” drew a season-low 14.64 million viewers but still topped baseball on Fox (10.76m).

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With “CSI” on the case, CBS has solved NBC’s early-season dominance — stepping into the winner’s circle for the first time this fall. The Eye net, according to Nielsen, edged out the Peacock in overall audience for the week of Oct. 22-28 (12.84 million to 12.74m) and placed second to NBC in adults 25-54. Leading […]

With “CSI” on the case, CBS has solved NBC’s early-season dominance — stepping into the winner’s circle for the first time this fall. The Eye net, according to Nielsen, edged out the Peacock in overall audience for the week of Oct. 22-28 (12.84 million to 12.74m) and placed second to NBC in adults 25-54. Leading […]

With “CSI” on the case, CBS has solved NBC’s early-season dominance — stepping into the winner’s circle for the first time this fall. The Eye net, according to Nielsen, edged out the Peacock in overall audience for the week of Oct. 22-28 (12.84 million to 12.74m) and placed second to NBC in adults 25-54. Leading […]

With “CSI” on the case, CBS has solved NBC’s early-season dominance — stepping into the winner’s circle for the first time this fall. The Eye net, according to Nielsen, edged out the Peacock in overall audience for the week of Oct. 22-28 (12.84 million to 12.74m) and placed second to NBC in adults 25-54. Leading […]

With “CSI” on the case, CBS has solved NBC’s early-season dominance — stepping into the winner’s circle for the first time this fall. The Eye net, according to Nielsen, edged out the Peacock in overall audience for the week of Oct. 22-28 (12.84 million to 12.74m) and placed second to NBC in adults 25-54. Leading […]

With “CSI” on the case, CBS has solved NBC’s early-season dominance — stepping into the winner’s circle for the first time this fall. The Eye net, according to Nielsen, edged out the Peacock in overall audience for the week of Oct. 22-28 (12.84 million to 12.74m) and placed second to NBC in adults 25-54. Leading […]

With “CSI” on the case, CBS has solved NBC’s early-season dominance — stepping into the winner’s circle for the first time this fall. The Eye net, according to Nielsen, edged out the Peacock in overall audience for the week of Oct. 22-28 (12.84 million to 12.74m) and placed second to NBC in adults 25-54. Leading […]